José Andrés mines the cuisine of Peru, one of South America’s richest culinary plains, at this loud, flashbulb-bright dining room strewn with colorful pillows. As at pretty much every other place in José world, dishes have been distilled into small plates and are set off with inventive cocktails (try the Inca Sunrise, with rum, passionfruit, and muddled tomato). The menu can be tricky to navigate—it throws together Peruvian standards such as lomo saltado with dishes that bear a heavy Chinese or Japanese influence. Our advice: Get one of the excellent (and massive) fried-rice bowls and accent it with an array of dumplings, ceviches, and sushi rolls made with potato instead of rice. And feel free to get a little extra—dessert here is pretty skippable.

Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Logan Circle.

Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.